NATCHEZ — The matter of just where all of Adams County’s garbage is going to be stowed for the next 10 years will be determined next week by the board of supervisors.

The county’s sanitation contract for the operation of the county landfill runs out at the end of the month, and County Administrator Joe Murray said the two proposals the board will have to choose from each have benefits to be considered, though he said he wouldn’t comment on which contract he would recommend to the supervisors.

“It is going to be a hard decision, and you are talking about a lot of money,” he said. “It is going to be difficult, and even if you are doing the right thing, you might not know right away.”

One thing to consider, Murray said, is that the proposal by Waste Management — which currently holds the contract — includes a host fee for Adams County, which generates between $40,000 and $50,000 annually based on the tonnage of waste stored at the Plantation Oaks landfill in Sibley.

The second company, Riverbend Environmental Services, has a landfill on U.S. 61 between Natchez and Fayette, and its proposal doesn’t include a host fee because it isn’t in Adams County. However, Murray said Riverbend’s proposal allowed for a reduction in tippage fees for higher tonnages of waste — essentially, the more waste that is stored there, the less the county would have to pay for it.

And then there’s the fact that the county’s waste pickup contract will be up for renewal in 2013.

While the two landfill sites are essentially the same distance from the center of the city, Murray said choosing one site over the other could affect bids from pickup contractors based on how far they would have to travel to dispose of the waste.

In the short term, it could also cost the county because Waste Management’s pickup contract allows for fuel adjustments.

“If we did decide to use a landfill in a different county, the amount of money we save by swapping to Riverbend might be washed out by the amount that Waste Management increased our charges for the pickup,” Murray said. “That would only be until May, and at that time if we have a company that could come in and give us a better rate, we might do that.”

Whatever the final decision is, Murray said, the goal is to save the county money in the long run.

Currently, the county is paying $16 per month per resident for garbage pickup services. The charge to residents is $13 a month.